The document discusses the urgent need for a community-driven approach to landscape restoration in Indonesia due to large areas of degraded forests caused by unsustainable management. It highlights that successful restoration requires collaboration among various ministries and active community participation, as government initiatives alone have fallen short. The text emphasizes the importance of integrating incentives and recognizing community efforts in forestry for effective long-term rehabilitation.

1. Tropenbos International
Indonesia Programme
LANDSCAPE RESTORATION
IN INDONESIA
The urgent need for a community-driven approach
Petrus Gunarso, PhD – TBI Indonesia and GPFLR
Making Knowledge Work for Forest and People

2. Outline
• Introduction
• Failure to perform SFM and Conservation
• Government and market driven restoration
• Global incentives for Forests Restoration
• Community initiative and community driven
restoration of forests
• Expanding Community – driven Approach
• Conclusion

3. Introduction - 1
• We have large areas of degraded forest and
land due to unsustainable management by
large companies and small holders.
• The productivity of these forests and lands
need to be restored.
• Restoring forests or rehabilitation is an
important goal of the Ministry of Forestry in
Indonesia.

4. Introduction 2
• Restoration of forests and lands is cross ministerial/
sectoral responsibility - not the sole responsibility of
Ministry of Forestry
• Ministry of Forestry, Ministry of Mining and Energy,
Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture.
• GOAL of MOF – Rehabilitation of 11.5 Million ha of forest
up to 2030. This rehabilitation is expected to absorb CO2
from the atmosphere as part of climate change mitigation
• At a landscape level – coordination among the ministries is
clearly required. With the absence of on the ground or
landscape level restoration, the role of community driven
restoration becomes essential.

5. Failure to implement SFM and
Conservation
• SFM has been introduced since the initial stage of
forest management in Indonesia in the seventies
• SFM has become a target for ITTO, wherein, all forest
management, including in Indonesia, will be
sustainably managed by 2000
• Conservation target of 10% of all terrestrial and
marine areas by 2020. Degradation and deforestation
in the targeted areas continues to exist and in some
places has intensified.

6. Government and Market Driven
Restoration
• Forest rehabilitation has been implemented through government
projects since the seventies with little success. In reality, the rate of
deforestation and forest degradation exceeds the rate of
rehabilitation.
• Government has started to invite community participation through
KBR – Kebun Bibit Rakyat - Community Nursery, but this might be
too little and too late.
• Companies have started with ‘intensive silviculture - SILIN’ – to
overcome the failure of natural regeneration with local fast growing
species. This is mainly at a research driven level of rehabilitation
and regeneration.
• Market driven reforestation/rehabilitation due to a shortage of
timber does not exist – but unsurprisingly, importation of steel and
aluminum frames and cheap plywood from China has increased
sharply.

7. Global incentives for Forest Restoration
• Climate change mitigation and adaptation –
global discourse and intense negotiation
• REDD+ promises ‘compensation’ from Annex 1
countries for reducing emission from
deforestation and forest degradation – ‘a low
hanging fruit’
• Green economy, green development, and green
energy
• Global efforts for forest restoration – ecosystem
restoration

8. Community initiative and community
driven forest restoration
• MASBENI – principles and guidelines has been
developed and a toolkits is being prepared
• Forum RE – facing challenging issues related to
incentives and recognition as an important investment
for the future of forestry in Indonesia
• This Conference – has attracted a large amount of
interest from people who want to be involved and
promoted the importance of restoration in Indonesia
• GPFLR – global movement to share learning on
landscape restoration; promoting a multidisciplinary
approach.

9. Expanding a Community-driven
approach
• Partnership
– Government – Community
– Company – Community
– Community - Community
• Collaboration
– Need champions, transparency, ‘inclusive -keberpihakan’,
togetherness, and innovation,
• “Gotong Royong”
– Togetherness in addressing the community’s burden

10. Why community-driven restoration is
urgent?
• The problem is so enormous that government alone, without
support from communities, will not be able to address it.
• Budget and field staff of the government working at the
landscape level are limited
• If there is a budget – often implemented with a short term
vision or short term project approach
• Focus of the government on rehabilitation/restoration is
lacking – considered as a cost center
• Companies are under no pressure to do it – they set aside the
budget but have no pressure to spent the money

11. Thank You